As the Levellers say - What a Beautiful Day...

I got all in a muddle with my postings yesterday - I blame the clocks changing and having to go to the airport!

Yesterday my lovely friend Sheila brought with her some cacti for me to put in the front garden.  I thought I would get out and plant them this morning and made the mistake of picking up one of the round spotty ones only to get a myriad of tiny spikes in my fingers that I have been picking out all day!  The long cactus cutting has vicious vicious spikes but I could seem them!

As you know our front garden is a nightmare as it bakes to a crisp in the summer and then has been flooded and frozen over winter.  Sheila suggested creating a sort of 'desert' space and she and Klaus have been kindly nurturing some cuttings and plants for me.  Although their garden is slightly lower and sheltered in the shadows of the dead people (cemetery!) I am hopeful that if it survives in their garden it will survive in ours.

When I went out to plant the cacti I was very excited to see that my daffodils (that are actually narcissi I think) have started to come into flower - how beautiful and what optimism this tiny little flower brings with it - a clear signal of spring followed by long days filled with sunshine.

We think we will probably go and get some more bulbs now that we know they can survive in this garden as they will bring us some early colour.  Anyone visiting us and wondering what to bring could shove a few bulbs for snowdrops, grape hyacinths and daffodils or narcissi in their bag and I will love them forever - I am easily pleased!!

A quick walk round the garden shows that some things are beginning to show signs of life - others look very firmly dormant or worse dead but I think I am probably being a bit impatient - its amazing how just a day or so of sunshine makes you think that winter is over!

I decided that I would walk to Sheila and Klaus's today for my art class and take in our surroundings on foot.  Walking past one of the houses on our estate the front garden is resplendent with tiny little cyclamen which are in full flower.

As I approached Marian and Chris's house Marian was outside and we had a chat - Mum has offered to come up and show Marian and Sheila how to do Pergamano and Marian has looked it up on the internet to check out what it is all about and thought it would be interesting to see - Sheila has also said she is interested so once she is back from the UK I will organise for Mum to come up and take a masterclass!

It was lovely walking through the village this morning, the sunshine makes everyone come outside and everyone is that bit more amiable.  Angela's builders shouted 'Hello', I had a chat with Marian, Pannicos and co sitting outside the village shop shouted Good Morning, the old boys outside the coffee shop acknowledged me and Phillipos's wife and the old ladies at the post office waved to me - how good is that?

There are a number of empty houses en route - some belong to families who live elsewhere in the world, mainly South Africa it would seem, and who come back just for the summer.  Some, like the house that Mel and Simon own, are holiday homes or weekend retreats.  Some, like the house on the corner where the old man used to sit outside, are probably empty as a result of a bereavement and others are just in need of some radical TLC.  

These properties fascinate me and I always think of John Boulton when I see them as I know he would relish the challenge of bringing them back to their former glory like he has done with his house in France.  I, on the other hand, cannot see beyond the fact that the roof is MISSING and that is enough to put me off!

Not only have I made two new friends in Sheila and Klaus but I also have two new friends in their dogs Charlie and Benji which is quite a feat because those of you that know me know that I am not really a dog lover although evenings round the Pamments being loved to death by Gethyn and Shaleigh or days spent with the Hazzells' dogs Smudge (God love him) and now Murphy have probably cured me of any fears. Unbelievably these two dogs are brother from the same litter, one got legs and the other didn't!!

I was a good girl and did my homework before pitching up this morning and traced out the outline of my new project which is a study in sepia.  You wont believe it but this is the result of several hours hard labour.  I cant believe that Sheila is leaving me to my own devices for the next couple of weeks and swanning off back to the UK!!!  It was lovely because John joined us for lunch today and as usual Klaus produced a really really really lovely meal.  I can't emphasise strongly enough what a fantastic cook/chef Klaus is as he can make what appears to be a simple meal the tastiest thing ever.  John can be a little nervous about eating out as he has a number of things he doesn't like (although actually really only three absolute no no's - mushrooms, brussels sprouts and broccoli).    He needn't have worried because we had chicken with a garlicky breadcrumb topping, red cabbage and potato rosti-type things - all of which were absolutely delicious.  So delicious that John has mentioned them several times this evening and I am going to have to try and reconstruct the potatoes sooner rather than later.  

We walked home in the sunshine and I just had to take this photograph of cheese hanging out to dry wrapped in what is, most certainly, a black hold up stocking (clean I hope!!!).  There are several places in the village that make cheese and we keep saying we are going to try some although I think we might go somewhere else if we do!

As we sauntered home we both agreed that life is good and there are times when I have to remind myself that I am not on holiday, I do not need to pack up, go back and have to work.  I sleep better than I have ever done, I have not been ill since we arrived and I no longer have that sinking feeling on a Sunday knowing what Monday will bring - don't get me wrong life is not all a bed of roses, the winter has been tougher than we could ever have imagined and beingg together 24/7 has taken some adjustment but we would not change a thing!

One last thing - Congratulations Geordie - or should we say CHIEF?  xxxxxxxxxxxxx The Boy Done Good